The Yankees officially announced the signing of Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year contract. The Excel Sports Management client is reportedly guaranteed $12.5MM.
Nightengale describes the Yankees’ pursuit of Goldschmidt this week as aggressive, though he notes they were also in talks with Christian Walker before he signed with the Astros. Carlos Santana was another first baseman New York reportedly considered. The Yankees had also been linked to Pete Alonso earlier in the offseason, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that they were “increasingly likely” to opt for a less expensive first base signing.
Indeed, Goldschmidt’s $12.5MM salary is well below the three-year, $60MM guarantee Walker received from Houston and the five-year, $125MM deal MLBTR predicted for Alonso. It’s also below the one-year, $15MM pact we predicted for Goldschmidt when we ranked him at no. 35 on our Top 50 Free Agents list.
Goldschmidt, 37, was a free agent for the first time in his career. Drafted by the Diamondbacks in 2009, he made his big league debut with Arizona in 2011. After a strong start to his MLB career, he signed an extension with the D-backs that kept him under team control through the 2019 season. Upon being traded to the Cardinals in 2019, he signed another extension that ran through 2024. Through those years with Arizona and St. Louis, Goldschmidt was one of the best players in baseball. He made seven All-Star teams, won five Silver Sluggers, and earned NL MVP honors in 2022. Over 1928 career games, he has slashed .289/.381/.510 with 362 home runs and a 139 wRC+.
Since his MVP season in 2022, Goldschmidt has taken a few steps back. His .810 OPS and 122 wRC+ in 2023 were more good than great, while his .716 OPS and 100 wRC+ in 2024 were merely league average. That’s not an encouraging trend for a first baseman entering his late thirties. However, Goldschmidt’s underlying numbers in 2024 offer a little more promise. His .308 batting average on balls in play was well below his career average of .343. Similarly, his .310 wOBA was noticeably worse than his .329 xwOBA. A .329 wOBA still would have been the worst of his career, but it also would have been significantly better than league average. Finally, Goldschmidt’s second-half performance was vastly superior to his first-half effort. Through the All-Star break, he was slashing .230/.291/.373 with an 87 wRC+. From the break onward, he hit .271/.319/.480 with a 120 wRC+.
The Yankees are surely hoping Goldschmidt looks like his second-half self throughout the 2025 season. However, even his mediocre full-season numbers would be a big upgrade over what the Yankees got from their first basemen in 2024. Yankees first basemen ranked last in MLB in OPS (.619), second-to-last in wRC+ (76), and 26th in FanGraphs WAR (-1.1). If Goldschmidt can simply repeat his 2024 campaign, the Yankees would get a big boost over the combination of Anthony Rizzo, Ben Rice, and DJ LeMahieu. That will be especially true against left-handed pitching. Goldschmidt slashed .295/.366/.473 with a 134 wRC+ against lefties this past season. Meanwhile, New York’s offense was significantly worse against lefties than righties. Goldschmidt should be a big help in that department.
On the defensive side, Goldschmidt, a four-time Gold Glove winner, will undoubtedly play first base for the Yankees. That will push recent trade acquisition Cody Bellinger into the outfield. It always seemed likely that Bellinger would play the outfield in New York, but manager Aaron Boone suggested earlier this week that first base was still an option. It’s safe to say that option is now off the table.
If the Yankees are still looking to add another bat, third base could be the next avenue they turn to for improvement. Jazz Chisholm Jr. took over at the hot corner after the trade deadline in 2024, but second base is his natural position. By sliding back to second, he could give the Yankees more flexibility to seek an upgrade in the infield. Some intriguing options at third base include free agent Alex Bregman and trade candidate Nolan Arenado. The Yankees have already expressed interest in both players.
Adding either Bregman or Arenado would likely push the team’s payroll above last year’s final estimate of $303MM (per RosterResource). It would also put them above the highest tier of the luxury tax once again. Although it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Yankees run such a high payroll in 2025, it’s worth keeping in mind that even the Steinbrenner’s have their spending limits. Chairman Hal Steinbrenner said earlier this year that the team’s current payroll is “simply not sustainable for us financially.” The fact that the Yankees were outbid for Juan Soto and that they were seeking a less expensive first baseman like Goldschmidt further suggests that GM Brian Cashman is working under payroll constraints. Those constraints could impact how the team operates for the rest of the offseason.
Jack Curry of the YES Network first reported the Yankees and Goldschmidt had agreed to a one-year deal. Bob Nightengale of USA Today was first on the salary.
Image courtesy of Imagn.
uvmfiji
Wonderful
mack22 2
Totally makes sense, Yanks are better than 2024
metsin4
No they are not.
avenger65
mack22: Not a nyy fan by any stretch, but they’re doing the right thing: Take the Soto money and fill some holes. Now, if they get Bregman, they’ll be very hard to beat.
labial
Bergman’s just another long term deal that will weight them down for years. Totally overrated
Benjamin101677
They should try and get Nolan from
The cardinals; see if he would waive his no trade claus.l
Damn Yankee$
@metsin4
Rent free…
Polarbear99
Come on man! Im a Mets fan too but you have to be objective as a baseball fan. Yankees are much improved over last year. Mets are marginally better in the lineup but the pitching is a disaster so far this offseason….
SonnySteele
Does his contract have a sanity clause?
MrDougDoug
This combo didn’t work too well for the cardinals the last few years – seems like a good plan if the goal is to not return to the World Series
metsin4
??? I think Yankee fans think people care about them way more than reality. Congrats on your offseason of signing has been players because the Mets got in your heads by taking a vastly superior player from you.
adj1970
I am a Braves fan I totally agree better than last year and will probably get a few minor parts still
metsin4
They signed two has been players. They don’t compare even close to losing Soto. Fans get all hyped about name recognition and could care less about how good they are anymore. Fried is good but injury prone and is crazy to give an 8 year contract to.
ChuckyNJ
Uhhh, the Yankees offered Marcus Stroman for Arenado but STL turned it down.
VegasMoved
You can’t fool me, there ain’t no sanity clause.
BaseballClassic1985
Yes, and giving a 15-yr contract to the one-dimensional Soto is without downside? Great take lol
phreddyl
You’re right- Belli and Fried are completely washed up and who is this closer Williams… oh yeah just one of the best in the game right now… Enjoy Soto- I am quite happy right now.
Charlie'sSinging
Cards had nothing around them, and no pitching. The Yankees have pitching and a good lineup around them. They wouldn’t be expected to carry significant weight, which means they would likely be more productive with lower pressure. It’s a much better situation. The Cards’ situation isn’t comparable at all.
BBSmoke
A great one dimensional player vastly overpaid. Enjoy worrying every time a ball is hit in his direction or watching his two foot lead at first. And yes I speak from experience being worried or annoyed with him last year every time he wasn’t in the box.
william-2
The rotation is extremely good with quality 1-5. The bullpen is strong. The lineup is deeper. The loss of Soto is steep, but they are upgrading nearly everywhere they lacked, and it will add up on stats replacing Soto.
I would rather play against the 2024 Yanks then this team for sure so far, and they aren’t done.
I would point out to Red Sox management that they are watching the Yankees do what a team that wants to win does. They are aggressively filling needs, dictating the market, and are pivoting quickly to other options on the run when plan A, B, C do not come through. This is a masterclass in commitment to addressing weaknesses and embarrassing for the Red Sox, who so far, have still not addressed 4 of their 5 “NEEDS” to compete seriously.
Raymond Flagstaff
Judge replaces soto in rf, ok. How exactly does belli and goldy count as an imprvement over judge?
TrillionaireTeamOperator
What is this in reference to exactly?
Flanster
Ho Ho Ho
Flanster
—Chico Marx
Raymond Flagstaff
Ive had to cope many times too, thats why i find yankees fans using these coping mechanisms so hilarious. Unfortunately for them they dont get it yet
Psychguy
Soto is a generational player. Their pitching is stronger with Fried and Williams, their offense has taken a hit with the departure of Soto replacing them with the aging Goldschmidt and over rated over paid Bellinger who is still milking his 2019 year.
william-2
Firstly, you do not look at Judge replacing Soto. Soto is simply gone. Judge is Judge.
If the positive stats of all new players coming in plus who remains are better than last year, they came out ahead, if not, they didn’t. If the overall defense is better, good. If not, bad.
The Yankees need to replace 72 HR 233 RBI total to break even. Bellinger is moving to a joke right field and power alley. I expect him at 26 HR 90+ RBI as a floor. I expect Goldy to do about 23 HR 80 RBI as his floor. Already, that is 49 HR 170 RBI towards matching the missing stats. The Yankees are still shopping for a 2B/3B and outfielder. Those two additions have to simply add 23 HR and 63 RBI combined for the offense to be better than last years.
It is easier to look at it in total rather than just say Bellinger is replacing Soto, or Goldy is replacing Rizzo.
Raymond Flagstaff
Cards started the season with more WS winners in their lineup and rotation than the yankees
Raymond Flagstaff
Lmao
Baseballisthebest
Metsin4,
Yankees have added 3.5 WAR in position players and lost 7.9 from Soto alone. A total of 10.3 WAR lost to position players. A net 6.8 WAR lost.
On the pitching side they added 5.0 WAR and lost 4.8 WAR. A net 0.2 WAR gain.
Its December, so they do have time to add.
Not factoring in inevitable declines from the older players, 35 yr old Stanton/33 yr old Judge/38 yr old Goldschmidt, the Yankees are down 6+ wins as of today.
Raymond Flagstaff
You have to subtract the WAR lost via the extra roster spots you get dividing a superstar into multiple pieces. Unless 1b was a negative war last year?
Salzilla
Look at you, you obviously care enough to make bad and absolutely wrong takes about them every chance you get.
FACTS: YANKEES ARE BETTER ALREADY THAN THIS PAST SEASON.
Any actual baseball fan with any actual baseball knowledge will agree.
Raymond Flagstaff
Ok but u understand thats based on faith, not stats or reality
gwynnpadreshof2007
also factor in Jasson Dominguez in the relacement sectrum
Psychguy
U are making a lot of assumptions based on your “expectation.” Let me know if you have insight into the future that eludes the rest of us.
Lilscrappy
This is some pretty significant projection right here, kind red-haired sir.
murphy8
Fried is not injury prone, you give a guy a big contract when you need a guy, and their paying Fried until hes 38 and your Mets have Soto till he’s 41 so age can’t account into it, as a Cubs fan Bellinger is a great add for them they can spend 700 million dollars on 4-5 impact players, that’s better than one when the Mets have a 2 starter, and a big group of projects/lotto tickets/4 starters in their group buddy
murphy8
@metsin4
Salzilla
We have no idea what any reality is in the future, but based on the here and now, on paper? Yes absolutely the Yanks are better thus far for 2025 than they were for 2024.
Goldy is better than the calvacade we had at first during the season, and absolutely better than man was supposed to play there all year, Rizzo.
Williams gives us one of the BEST closers in baseball. Cruz could be a solid #3 in that bullpen too.
Bellinger is a solid OF, he’s no Soto obviously on the stick, but better on the grass. I’ll also take his ability to play 1st as a positive too. Jasson possibly getting a full go is a plus, too, though we may yet get another OF, we’ll see.
Fried is like adding another ace while subtracting a number 4 in Nestor. I don’t care for his years, but we’re talking 2025 here.
And we still are adding an IF that more than likely will be better than Gleyber. (Though I don’t mind Torres personally)
So all we can talk about is on paper, but how does anyone look at that list and objectively think we not better already?
Redsforlife
You might be the dumbest person on here.
Raymond Flagstaff
So prove it. How is the lineup improved for the yankees exactly?
asdfgh
Got to take on more money and not offer a dead contract in return. They want to shed salary and no need for Stroman. That or offer some prospects to have more money covered by Cardinals
asdfgh
Yeah there’s a reason that doesn’t shed money for the cardinals they don’t want a dead contract back. If you want the cards to cover salary got to offer prospects than.
Salzilla
Lolz what exactly in my post is dumb???
Salzilla
Raymond, prove what??? What can say besides what I wrote already??? Lol, that’s on the players in season. Like i said ON PAPER, I think we are obviously better, pretty sure any fellow Yankees fan would agree. That’s the team WE follow day in, day out. I think we know better than any nonfan on the internet who only goes by stats in front of him. And anyway our lineup is incomplete. I’m talking about the team in total. Impossible to argue unless you are obviously just hating.
melfman1
You’re joking right? Soto is a 1 tool player. He can hit/walk. After watching a full season of 162 games plus a postseason with him, I can assure you that is all he can do. He can’t field, he can’t run and although he has a decent arm, it is terribly inaccurate.
Without Judge to protect him in the lineup, I’d guess his walk numbers jump and his homers plummet next season. Can’t wait to see what Mets fans think of a $51 million dollar walk machine come next year.
Scott Costello
As a Yankees fan…I agree. The signings are a net lose when compared to losing Soto.
Scott Costello
Soto is a more than adequate RF’r. He is not great but you all make it seem like he sucks! Was a gold glove finalist this year. At the very least that makes him an average OFer.
Scott Costello
How is this a masterclass!?!? Their pitching was top 10 in the mlb last year…meaning they did not NEED an SP. Losing one of the greatest hitters in baseball makes their offense a Huge need. All they did was turn Verdugo and Rizzo into Belli and Paul G who are barely above average hitters. We better hope Jasson is a superstar or we will have a bottom half offense. Think 2 years ago offense.
Mynameisnoname
Soto was 38th percentile for overall fielding value last year. He is in the 14th percentile for range and is the 90th percentile for arm accuracy.
That is why he was a gold glove finalist last year- Yankee stadium RF is extremely short to both the corner and alley allowing him to utilize his arm without having to track into the gap or over his head often.
In a large RF in Queens, he will be in the bottom quartile for fielding.
Scott Costello
You can’t just look at it that way! Not all stats are created equal. Soto was clutch and came through in the biggest situations. The anti ARod if you wish.
You can’t just spread those stats over multiple players. It’s like saying 3 walks in an inning are just as good as 3 singles. Even though both equal 3 bases, You are more likely to score a run with singles
Mynameisnoname
@Scott Verdugo and post concussion Rizzo had wRC+ of 83 and 84. If Belli and Goldschmidt both post 105-120+ wRC+ seasons that goes a long way towards replacing the admittedly huge loss in production from Soto.
Now we have a full season of Jazz and potential power/speed from J Dom. With the added elite run prevention in Fried and D Williams, I’d have to imagine this team compares favorably to last years roster.
Joe says...
Scott odd that you chose the walk versus singles analogy to make your point considering how much Soto walks instead of putting the ball in play. The guy is batting about.285 but gets on base at .420 because of how much he walks.
Baseballisthebest
The Yankees are objectively 6 wins worse than last year.
KnicksFanCavsFan
This is a Yanks post that you’re commenting in but you think we care about what the Mets do? The Mets were a 89 win team that finished 3rd in their dividing with a healthy Acuna in Atl’s lineup. You guys relaxed your 3 best starters with fill ins. You guys have a lot more work to do. At least the Yanks are stressing their issues.
YourDreamGM
Nolan perfect fit. Forget the Stroman garbage trade offer. Just take on majority of his salary and give a nothing return like they did Bellinger.
YourDreamGM
Cardinals didn’t have anything else. Nolan Goldy wasn’t the problem.
YourDreamGM
Definitely better than last year and better the next 5 to 15 years. Not signing Soto was their best move since drafting Judge.
KnicksFanCavsFan
@Psy
There is no replacing Soto. He’s one of a kind. So you can’t relabel him so you focus on improving the team not just one position.
Beli > Verdugo.
Judge fielding in RF > Soto
Goldschmidt > Rizzo
Williams > Holmes
Fried > Cortez + Stroman
Yanks still need to figure out 3b/2b by still out there shopping.
Ozzie Canseco
Seriously, what’s up with the sanity clause?
arty! Believes Jevon Belcher Quit on the Chiefs
Combo of Goldschmidt and Arenado didn’t work with Alec Burleson and Dylan Carlson and Nolan Goreman and sub offensive hitters
Probably will work better with Judge and Chizzholm Bellinger and their new 3B
Just a wild guess though that a deeper lineup will help
Joe says...
Knicksfan Judge > Soto.
All Soto has on Judge is age and walks.
I agree with Chipper Jones that people are throwing the “generational” thing around too casually.
Can a player be generational if he’s the fourth and arguably the fifth best position player in the World Series? Judge, Ohtani and Betts are definitely better and a case can be made for Freeman as well.
Killer of Ignorance
Meanwhile, Juan Soto twists in the wind, with no protection anywhere in sight.
Killer of Ignorance
If the Mutts had done what the Yankees have done you would be tickled pink and rubbing your mitts together in anticipation of good things to come next season. You 100% trashing the Yankees moves is an easy to see indicator that you are very concerned about the NYY going forward. You’re lucky they are not in the NL East.
Raymond Flagstaff
Lol yea i wanted bellinger and goldschmidt over soto. Yankee fans are hilarious
chiefivey
lmaooo ive seen yankee fans call soto all types of trash, overrated and one dimensional in the last week or so like they didnt want him back so bad lmaooo
Killer of Ignorance
What I’m saying is if you hadn’t gotten Soto, you would have been a lot more positive about the moves the Yankees have made if the Mets had made them. BTW, Belli and Goldy are both way better defenders than Soto and the Yankees got them on short term deals. You are stuck with Soto for the next FIFTHTEEN YEARS for 800 mil.+. He already sucks in the field and is slow afoot. You think Soto is going to be the same player in his thirties? Soto already has a weight problem. You can see his gut in all those press conference photos. Juan likes to eat. Juan is not only A hot Dog. He loves Hot Dogs. Wrapped in bacon and smothered in cheese and relish. Plus mama’s home cooking. Anyway, it’s all conjecture. What I know is the NYY will be a better, more well-rounded team in 2025 than they were in 2024. Without Juan Soto whose cost would have handicapped the NYY with improving other areas. And they are not done.
JackStrawb
They really aren’t. Giving up Cortes for Williams rates to cost them a win, Fried projects to 3 WAR, Goldschmidt to 0.5 WAR, Bellinger’s a 2-3 win player. They still haven’t compensated for losing Soto, but somehow Cashman added close to $70m in payroll, and gave up a useful spare part in Poteet in the process.
Anyone who said “all you have to replace Soto is sign a few good players” didn’t think it through—or didn’t count on Cashman.
YourDreamGM
Who needs Juan Soso with Bellinger Fried Williams Goldschmidt and still more to come!
YourDreamGM
This Jack and Raymond guy give hiflew feverpitch Samuel etc a run for their $
theonlydynasty
Yeah, you got Soto, good for you, it definitely hurts.But you’re still the Mets. One way or another, they’ll figure out a way to Met the whole thing up.
Raymond Flagstaff
Yes and by definition
JackStrawb
@theonlydynasty I didn’t want Soto either, halfwit.
Ask mom to read the thread to you: The claim upthread was that the Yankees are better off as of today than they would have been just bringing back Soto.
spudchukar
It would make them a little too right-handed, but adding Arenado would still be great. Solid infield defense. Great character guys. Almost makes me want to root for the Yanks.
theonlydynasty
@jackstrawb never said i didn’t want Soto. Just said that the Mets will still do what they always do. Met the whole thing up.
178iq
The Yankees drove up the price on Soto $150,000,000 more than they were EVER going to even consider paying, and then dropped him on the Mets. It was all by design.
178iq
Soto can’t field. Can’t run. Can’t steal bases. Can’t throw.
178iq
If belly & goldy hit .240 & hit 20HR each they will have outstanding production from those two that is vastly superior to the players they have replaced.
WadeBoggsWildRide
Vegas what about a Santa Clause?
Killer of Ignorance
I was rather ambivalent about resigning Soto. The Yanks have a history of agreeing to long contracts that become burdens. While Soto was very good for NY last year, the length and cost of his required contract was a real concern. So, I was not crushed when Soto signed with the Mets, but rather relieved and with the move the Yanks have made since, pleasantly satisfied and waiting for a couple more.
Killer of Ignorance
Weak…
Killer of Ignorance
Absolutely. I’m not saying that the moves NY has made are all surefire slam dunks. But they have the potential to be helpful and so far, I like them all. And other than Fried, none of them are long term commitments.
Lemonade24
No player is worth the contract and the end of their careers. Fried will give the Yankees 4 -5 good years. Soto maybe 9-11 good years.
Killer of Ignorance
Maybe….More will be revealed.
Baseballisthebest
Ignorance, Belli was a -1 DRS. Soto was a -1 DRS. Goldy was 0 DRS.
Baseballisthebest
1.78 IQ. Your tin foil hat is showing.
Damn Yankee$
Sounds like signing Soto got in YOUR head, bud.
Raymond Flagstaff
How shocking!
A. Judge
Of course they will better. Max Fried would be a #1 on 20 teams. Williams would be the closer on 30 teams, Bellinger is a very good Centerfielder and moving Judge to right upgrades the outfield defensively. Goldschmidt is an upgrade on both sides at 1st. The young guys Volpe, Wells, Jazz, and Domínguez will have another year of experience. I would take the sum of the improvements in a heartbeat over spending outrageously to retain a great hitter who is mediocre defensively for the next 15 years.
william-2
Rizzo wasn’t Keith Hernandez, but he was one of the best in the last 20 years. Goldy is a fine. This is a slight downgrade defensively, but an all-around upgrade on a one year.
The Saber-toothed Superfife
You can’t fool me! There ain’t no Sanity Claus.
Ozzie Canseco
Lol seriously is this a thing?
whyhayzee
FACT: Yankees are 0-0 like everyone else.
FACT: we won’t know if they’re better until months from now.
FACT: their fans are gasp bags who love to throw dangerous objects at opposing players and boo their own overpaid underperformers.
Michael Marinelli
Everyone knows there is no Sanity Clause
Quinnap89
That is true but now that Goldy is a yankee that has been said will change his heart on waving the NTC. I see Arenado deal getting done now. Bregman will cost too much. At least with arenado hes off the table in 3 years not 6 or 7.
RustysWorld6986
I’m sure the Mets will have Soto work on his defense and have a dietitian and strength coach work with him this winter. That’s a big investment and commitment they’ve placed on this guy. I think Stearns will try getting Alonso back, but if not, they can fall back on Bregman to play 3rd and move Vientos to first. Remember they have Mauricio and Baty who can fill in at third. Right now they should try figuring out there starting pitching and bullpen before it gets to late.
Canosucks
#Polarbear99 I had to thumbs up to 20 as a long time Mets fan myself. Yanks will definitely be better; like you said be objective be serious
Canosucks
#SonnySteele Aint no such thing as a Santaty Claus!
yanks2323
Would expect a Met fan to say that!
JackStrawb
@A. Judge Boasting of an ‘upgrade’ over Rizzo is amusing. Buy Jon Berti a 1Bman’s mitt and at 35 he’d be an upgrade over Rizzo.
It’s almost as if you ignored what the Yankees surrendered in trade plus the payroll they’re committing… oh, wait, that’s exactly what you did.
–Fried 8/218m, $27.5m AAV, 3.4 WAR
–Bellinger 1/32.5m or 2/57.5m, $30m, 2.2
–D. Williams 1/10m, $10m, 1.7
–Goldschmidt 1/12.5m, $12.5, 1.4
That’s 80m in new salary, plus in Cortes and Poteet they’ve traded away a hair over 2 wins.
Projections:
Cumulative gain for the 2025 Yankees 6.6 WAR
Soto 6.8 WAR
Yankees in 2025 vs 2024: negative 0.2 WAR
Call it breaking even.
Salaries
New Yankees: $80m in 2025
Soto: $51m in 2025.
Yeah, that’s not a “better” team in 2025—by any stretch.
JackStrawb
@Canosucks Be objective? Get serious:
–Fried 8/218m, $27.5m AAV, 3.4 WAR
–Bellinger 1/32.5m or 2/57.5m, $30m, 2.2
–D. Williams 1/10m, $10m, 1.7
–Goldschmidt 1/12.5m, $12.5, 1.4
That’s 80m in new salary, plus in Cortes and Poteet they’ve traded away a hair over 2 wins.
Projections for 2025:
Cumulative gain for the 2025 Yankees: 6.6 WAR
Soto: 6.8 WAR
Yankees in 2025 vs 2024: negative 0.2 WAR
Call it breaking even.
Salaries:
New Yankees: $80m in 2025
Soto: $51m in 2025.
Yeah, that’s not a “better” team in 2025—by any stretch.
How about 2026?
Fried 27.5m, 3.3 WAR
Bellinger 27.5m 2.0 WAR
Soto 51m, 6.9 WAR
Nope, you still lose. Be objective. Words to live by.
178iq
He’d be the best hitting & fielding infielder they’ve had since jeter.
178iq
Looking at all those number sells looks like the Yankees made the right move. Soto isn’t hitting in a line up with Judge and Big G. They don’t have to even go after Soto in that line up. Watch Soto’s walks go up. And hits go down. He’s gonna be treated like bonds.
DavRozNYY
They are far better now than they were with Soto.
DavRozNYY
2025 Yankees have less holes in the lineup, better pitching and better defense. They will be better. Mets fans want to make everyone think losing Soto was the end of the world for them. Wrong
Raymond Flagstaff
yankee mystique not even worth a parking ticket lmao, good luck little buddy
Raymond Flagstaff
how exactly did they improve? man yall know so little its funny sometimes
Raymond Flagstaff
lmao yall so sad its troubling
Raymond Flagstaff
lmao cope harder
Raymond Flagstaff
more holes but the holes are smaller. speak correctly or people will think youre an idiot
drewnats33
Chico was the man.
VegasSDfan
The dude struck out 173 times last year, he is approaching 2,000 strike outs in his career.
Charlie'sSinging
173 strikeouts is not exactly an eye-popping total in today’s game. No one cares if you strike out if you produce. He had significantly high strikeout totals back when he was one of the best in the game, so again, strikeouts are basically meaningless in today’s game. He’s not what he used to be, but he was great hitting lower in the order for the Cards, where there was less pressure to carry the load – something he can do in NY as well. Should be a solid add.
178iq
Dude’s career BA is around .290. Guy gets on base and rakes. 173 SO’s isn’t too crazy. Look what they did with judge. I’m not saying they have time to fix Goldy but ya never know.
178iq
Compare goody and jeter’s stats. Maybe cano?
Goose
Agreed and I am a Red Sox fan. They added a quality arm to the rotation. They stabilized 1B and Goldschmidt is still a good defender. In that lineup he should be able to repeat his age 35 numbers. Bellinger improves the defense in CF and another guy who should do well in that lineup and park. The latter two are good veteran bats and gloves.
Basketball geek
As a Sox fan, Breslow all talk, ok they got Crochet… we’ll see what they do… They’re not signing Bregman, working on the fringes… signing Sandoval, coming off of Tommy John surgery is all you need to know…. They need to realign, Devers defensively is tough, they need a big time bat to protect Devers… Just saying….
Baseballisthebest
Crochet adds more than Fried.
4.1 WAR vs 3.5 WAR.
Chapman. Narvaez. The return of Giolito.
Red Sox are moving in a positive direction, but need to add a 3B so Devers can move to DH, a 2B, and possibly one more SP.
Jbigz12
Fried could easily add more. Crochet was electric for half a season. How he holds up for a full season of real starts in a rotation is anyone’s guess. He might end up being Tyler Glasnow.
Baseballisthebest
Reality not what might be. Crochet had 4.1 WAR. Fried had 3.5 WAR. That is what actually happened. Crochet adds more based on what he actually did on the field last year.
Raymond Flagstaff
fried is a walking injury. 8 years lmao
cooperhill
Nope, not even close.
Theodore
You’re right another one as a Jay fan Atkins And Shapiro sitting on their asses ,sleeping on an opportunity . But choose to sign minor leaguers continuously .
RickEO
Lol
Matthew De Lorge
Bellinger is 29, so he is a “has been”? Goldy may not be the greatest signing, but Bellinger/Fried/Williams is far superior to the hit first Soto, who was a liability in RF and can’t run the bases well. If Soto degrades at all on the one tool he has, which has been shown to be true in MANY stars as they age, he will be a bad signing. He is one injury away, and has 15 years to have it.
metsin4
Fried is a lot more risk at 8 years than Soto at 15. Let’s put it this way would the Yankees give them all back for a returning Soto? In a heart beat.
Matthew De Lorge
Ummm, 8 is less than 15 last I did the math on, and it was less than half the cost. What math are you doing?
Fat Lever
No chance. Making yourself feel better. Vast majority of Yankee fans are feeling very good right now.
Raymond Flagstaff
they still havent realized they are mid for a wealthy franchise… its starting to catch on tho
Balk
Anyone else seeing that Ricky Henderson passed away?
DarrenDreifortsContract
By losing Soto and signing a washed up player?
baseballfreak25
They’re much better on both sides of the ball. Defense is much better and they will actually get some form of offense from 1b and there’s no lag in production in the lineup. I think they’re going to try and trade for McMahon from Colorado. If they get him, this team is looking deadly on paper.
Chuck from Uniontown
“Yanks are better than 2024” is my favorite MLBTR meme going into the New Year.
DavRz
N̈o doubt about that
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Pete Alonso better grovel back to Cohen now. Mariners and Dbacks are not going to offer Alonso 4 years/$100 or 3 years/$90.
Troutahni
I think Detroit might actually sign Alonso. It appears Torkleson will see his time split between DH and some part-time starts at First Base giving Alonso some starts as DH.
Basketball geek
That’s a tough stadium for power hitters… Pete’s best bet is to work out a deal out w/ Mets.. Mets will go in a different direction, short term deal w/ free agent or trade for a first baseman if Boras strings this out…. If Pete takes a short term deal somewhere and has an off season, he’s in trouble…
YourDreamGM
I call Boras with a low ball offer and say take it now or I am signing Santana. He will refuse. Some team will give Pete a pillow contract. Should have taken the extension Pete. Then again you never knkw what stuoid move these gms will make.
Gator50
Grovel may be mildly overstated, although my first thought when seeing the headline to this article was “Alonso is quickly losing his market”. He may end up with a decision of Mets or a pillow (contract).
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Gator
Concur. Maybe the Nats will swoop in, but I am guessing the Mets offer Alonso a short deal with really high AAV, maybe three years snf $90 million with opt outs after years one and two. And Nats offer four years at $100 million.
towinagain
An organization wanting to win. Kudos Yankees!
Padres.you have to spend if you want to win.
Spend some coin Kutsenda, please.
CrikesAlready
Ahhh, the Padres no longer have a mentally-compromised mancrush-ravaged owner any longer. He did leave the team with an anchor around its neck and he threw them into the deep end of the pool.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Crikes
Most fans would adore an owner who pushed the envelope to try to win. The Padres are now an exciting franchise and in the 2024 postseason, they looked like the second best team to the Dodgers. Let’s see whether they trade Cease before you write their obituary.
Gwynning
Yikes, Crikes and trikes… terrible post as usual from you. Go to bed Already!
Rexhudler86
@mlb.
Who says crikes before writing a ignorant post. I guess you do.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Rex
Or someone replying to a post authored by “Crikes”
Gwynning
towin, towin, towin… need I remind you about the patience we always talk about? Did you *really* want to sign Goldy or are you just trolling at this point?!? The 40 Man is almost full. Sit tight (and maybe even on your hands…!) because it’s going to be a “slow” offseason!! The roster is almost set- just need 1 SP, 1 UTIL/INF and 1 OFer. Relax buddy.
YourDreamGM
Padres owner wanted to win while he was still here to see it. That’s awesome to had a owner who actually cared about winning so much. But some of the worst contracts ever and the fanbase got a taste of big spending and now have to go through withdrawal. 300m payroll you can absorb some bad $. Under 200m is a challenge.
roob
I like this move for the Yankees.
thebirds
I didn’t think Goldie would ever sign in New York considering he’s not a fan of the media. But good for him and I hope he wins his championship with them next year he deserves it.
Baseballisthebest
All these additions and the Yankees have still not replaced Soto’s WAR.
Raymond Flagstaff
But they have added household names with midling production and overpayed an oft injured pitcher
Fat Lever
Soto’s WAR didn’t win them the World Series. Go back to bed.
Baseballisthebest
Judge and Torres’s gloves lost them the WS that Soto’s bat got them to.
Raymond Flagstaff
why would a WAR win you a WS?
GO1962
The Yankees have gotten themselves a Class Act.
WadeBoggsWildRide
$12.5m for Goldy is better than $12m for Santana for sure. Yankees got a deal.
Raymond Flagstaff
A million here a million there soon we’re talking real money!
Prunella Vulgaris
Yes, it is. They can trade him to Toronto along with a few of their best prospects for Vlad Jr. and sign him for about $6000000.
towinagain
Yankees acting like a team wanting to win.
Raymond Flagstaff
without going all in
Raymond Flagstaff
Yanks going with the all budget ex-star lineup? Soto to Mets; 8 years to Fried, Goldy and Belli to Yankees, the role reversal complete. Yankees being run by the Wilpons now?
tigers182
All that matters is he’s a big name.
phreddyl
I mean their payroll is over 300 million. Not sure I would call that budget…
They have done relatively well this offseason. Can’t really complain. At least I can’t.
Raymond Flagstaff
I wouldnt complain exactly. But i didnt when it was the mets making those moves either. I lived through moves like that for 3 decades. They can and will compete imo
Blue Baron
Raymond: But would you complain approximately?
Raymond Flagstaff
No i would be a little uneasy hoping for former glories tho
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Which New York team will sign Bregman? Not many dance cards remaining.
Motor City Beach Bum
Detroit is not in New York 😉
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Motor
Hope you are right, but I doubt it.
cooperhill
He’s not signing with Detroit. They learned a lesson with Baez.
Jordo87
Bregman doesn’t suck that bad lol and obviously got the AJ Hinch connection but that be the only reason I could see it
metsin4
Neither
Baseballisthebest
Boston is not in New York.
TrillionaireTeamOperator
I pray it isn’t the Yankees.
I still think Bregman wants as much money as possible- which, there is zero wrong with that it’s a business after all, but his upside is limited to about 0-4 years at this point and he’s focused on reaching or exceeding the $200M threshold on any deal and all teams in serious contention are gonna stay away from him on the long term deal that’d require, so he is likely to wind up somewhere like Detroit or Arizona, where they have cash to burn but no takers and are in need of looking like they’re trying to compete.
Motor City Beach Bum
Looking like they are trying to compete? Arizona was in tbe WS 2 years ago and the Tigers were amongst the final four in the AL this year?
Dustyslambchops23
Yankees went to the WS last year with corpses at first base, regardless that’s he’s old he’s still an upgrade for their team
TheTrotsky
Yeah this is far from the worst move they could’ve made.
metsin4
Far from the best either.
TheTrotsky
I dont think there really was any great options at first. Just a lot of older and declining players.
The_M4N
Sin4, what would be the best?
jerseyjohn
If he and Rice are both rostered it’s a fine move. Rice is gonna be a player in this league.
rocky7
Says a Mets fan whose jealousy just won’t allow any objective comments……the Yankee roster is now more balanced than last season….get a life will you
Raymond Flagstaff
Aw took the bait did you?
Raymond Flagstaff
Its not bad but they could have made a moe that would give them abetter chance this year. They wetwth the cheap ex star instead
Raymond Flagstaff
Lol awwww. Ive said several times i think goldy will be decent
Baseballisthebest
You can’t get any older at 1B
WadeBoggsWildRide
This gives them the opportunity to go for Vlad next year and upgrade this year.
Baseballisthebest
I was wrong. They could have signed Santana.
slider32
Yanks now have Goldy, Rice, DJ, and Bellinger at first! That’s a good combo! If DJ is healthy again he could be a key piece in 25. What’s next for Cashman, he is wheeling and dealing.
avenger65
slider32: A third baseman?
jerseyjohn
Slider: Rice can catch or caddy with Goldschmidt. Bellinger isn’t seeing the infield unless there’s injuries. DJ Le-Groundout is an issue. They might try him at 2nd until he gets hurt.
slider32
DJ was hurt last year, he might surprise this year!
Anthony maresca
Yankees went to the WS with virtually zero production from 1B, LF, 2B (3/4 season) and 3B (3/4 season) a Closer who blew mlb high 14 saves and Cole missing 2/3 season! The moves they made are quantity and quality over Soto solely so they are significantly upgraded across the board plus Rice will continue to get reps at 1B possibly platoon with Goldy meaning DJ will need to be released.
YaGottaBelieveAgain
Rice will spend more time in AAA and also as a C probably
metsin4
The closer blew 14 saves because of the phantom ghost runner in extra innings. If your team scores is run in extra innings and you give up there toeing run in the bottom is it really a blown save with the runner at second rule?
whyhayzee
Metsin4, what?
Brick House Coffee Tables Inc
If DJ doesn’t have a no-trade clause, I can see him being traded to the A’s since they need to hit a ~$105M payroll number to continue to receive revenue sharing (part of the conditions of allowing their move).
slider32
That;s fine, it’s called depth!
Pads Fans
They just signed another corpse at 1B. Just staying with their pattern at the position, right?
Dustyslambchops23
He was still an average bat last year, don’t get carried away
Pads Fans
Goldy was a 1.3 WAR player with a 98 OPS+.
That is below average for both.
Rizzo was a 94 OPS+ in 2023. So similar to Goldy, but younger.
jerseyjohn
Pads: You’re overlooking (perhaps intentionally) that Rizzo didn’t crack 100 games in either of the last 2 seasons. That concussion did a number on him, he became a terrible fielder. So… always hurt, no power, and terrible D isn’t the recipe for success at 1st base. Goldschmidt needs to catch the ball, pop an occasional homer, and be able to take the field and he will be leaps and bounds better than Rizzo.
Raymond Flagstaff
thats not actually how you get value tho. plenty of hr hitters get benched
Baseballisthebest
Rizzo was better on defense. 2 DRS vs 0 for Goldschmidt.
jerseyjohn
Baseball: Did you watch Yankee games? He’s been terrible since the concussion. Missed scoops, no range, a shadow of what he was pre-concussion. I don’t watch the Cards but unless Goldy is terrible at D he has to be better than Rizzo. Defensive stats are not an exact science, perhaps the Yankees groundball oriented staff helped make Rizzo look better statistically than he played?
Dustyslambchops23
Goldy had 100 wrc+ last year, that is very literally an average hitter.
Rizzo was 16% worse than average.
So not similar at all, and younger by 2 years doesn’t really matter on a 1 year deal especially when Rizzo hasn’t been healthy the last few
Raymond Flagstaff
It could be viewed however that goldy is likely to give less than what was expected from rizzo last year. There are no good reasons imo to assume the yankees are better on paper this season than last. On paper theyre actually quite a bit worse on offense at least.
Dustyslambchops23
Not so sure about that, far from a Yankee fan.
But a full year of Jazz and Dominguez is meaningful, then Goldy is an improvement and so is Bellinger. Obviously none are going to come close to Soto’s production, but the lineup has a chances to be much deeper and more well rounded.
+ their pitching has improved. It’s a good team on paper, they’ve had a nice offseason
Raymond Flagstaff
As ive asked a million times @dusty and no one ever seems to explain
How is belli and goldy an improvement over rizzo and soto? Its absurd to argue on paper the yankees lineup has improved so far. Besides judge approaching his attrition date, and that stanton is held together with duck tape
Dustyslambchops23
You can’t look at it as a 2 for 2 swap because Soto is going to win that battle over almost every player.
But when you add a full year of jazz, full year of Dominguez, then belli and Goldy the lineup is much longer. Last year offensively all they had was 1-3, this year they should be more balanced and an overall deeper lineup
jerseyjohn
Raymond: Now do Bellinger and Goldy compared to Verdugo and Rizzo… You’re here to hammer on the Yankees not for an intellectually honest discussion. Feel free to compare Holmes V. Williams and Fried V. Poteet if you want additional points of reference.
Raymond Flagstaff
Dominguez has proven nothing. U had jazz already and jazz without improvment is a 1.5-3 WAR player. You can hope the lineup improves but there is nothing even close to a guarantee of that, and it seems clear to me its still a step backwards. Belli is extremely far rom a sure thing. Right now he is 5050 to lay an egg. And there are a number of players youre banking on that are getting mighty long in the tooth
Raymond Flagstaff
Lol how is that honest first of all. I am talking about the lineup, u wanna ignore the loss of aleague best hitter. Going into the year theres no proof verdugo rizzo were worse than belli goldy anyway, not that the comp makes sense. U replaced judge with belli in CF. U replaced soto with judge. Theres still a leaue best hitter missng however you slkce it
We can do pitching if you like. Williams literally ended his teams season against nym.
But my only point was hitting and youre offering a false narrative.
And nonifnyou read more of my comments im not here to “only bash the yankees” i quite clesrly said several times that i think goldy will be league average and he fills a hole for nyy. Belli might be decent, but he also often stinks. Do the fair comp, the real one, and get back to me if u wanna do pitching, but im not gonna debate it with someone being dishonest
jerseyjohn
Raymond: Assume you’re talking to me… I’m certainly not discounting the loss of Soto. You’re discounting the replacement of 2 terrible players with a guy likely to have a great year (Bellinger) and a guy who while fading should be able to be a positive contributor. There’s also a good chance Dominquez can contribute at least a 2 WAR season. Add a full year of Jazz, and more Wells suddenly the offense looks like it belongs in the back half of the top 10.
I think both Judge and Soto will take steps back next year. They won’t protect each other, and Soto loses the short porch.
With the pitching additions, the Yankees are now better than last year. You want to fixate on losing Soto as if we’re in a vacuum here.
Raymond Flagstaff
Stats ive seen suggest soto would have had more hr at citi.
Bellinger is very far from likely to have a great season. Goldy is very likely to continue to decline. A full year of jazz might just prove why the marlins were intent on moving him. Dominguez at 2 WAR is also way overly generous. I dont see where any of this comes close even to making up the gap. Yes dominguez, belli, goldy, even jazz or stanton could go wild, but everyteam is full of hope about players like that. Yankee fans seem to always imagine being on NYY makes players reach their potential. Ive see this argument for all the additions.
Is it a decent lineup, yea, is it some sort of improvement? No not even close, could it be? Yea sure why not. My point realy in this wole thread is this is how normal fans act. They get hyped and hopeful they catch some lightning, but statistically yankees lineup needs outperformance all over to makeup for soto, unless they add pete or alex, or something unforseen. Theyre still a bat short and a big one, just like the mets are currently, ad so may other teams not named the dodgers who will also have to comprte with attrition
Had the yankees added these guys and landed a legit bat then yes absolutely the lineup improves, but taing every player and projecting his best self is just fandom not realistic
Dustyslambchops23
Dude just stop. You’re obsessed and use no data or facts.
We get it you don’t like the yanks offseason or lineup. Doesn’t change anything and you writing 300 words about your emotions as to why isn’t going to change any minds.
As of now Yanks lineup will fight with the O’s for the division, your feelings aren’t going to change that
Raymond Flagstaff
Literally just said its a decent lineup. Its not about feeli gs in any way. Im still waiting for some sort of statitical reason how anyone could possibly consider the lineup an improvement. Has nothing to do with emotions. Yankees cpuld bebtter than the orioles no argument from me, congrats!! Whats your point. Whetes sotos production come from?
jerseyjohn
Raymond: Here you go.
WAR lost Soto 7.9, Verdugo .8, Rizzo .2
Fangraphs Projections for Goldschmidt 1.9, Bellinger 2.5, Dominquez 2.3
With those 3 player changes the Yankees PROJECT to lose 2.2 WAR.
Jazz gave the team 1.5 WAR and is projected for 3.3
Wells gave 2.5 and is projected for 3.5
As I said in my last post a full year of Wells and Jazz should make up the difference, based on projections it does. They project to add 2.8 additional WAR above last years totals. Dealing just with these players discussed the Yankees project to be .6 WAR ahead of last years totals.
The game isn’t played based on projections but you can see why fans of the team are not ready to quit. The pitching staff is greatly improved. The offense will miss Soto’s unique talents but seem to be set up to absorb the loss by adding better supporting players and getting fuller years from young up and coming players.
Raymond Flagstaff
The fans shouldnt be ready to quit, its a decent team no argument there.
Thanks for trying
But youre still ignoring several things. Yankee fans were unhappy with the lineup last year, youre telling me how they come within 1 (more bellinger/jazz/goldy) of being equal to last year ignoring all attrition. And thats then half the lineup of upgrades to match the 1 guy. This means the yakees dont have enough positions left to improve. Unless everyone outperforms. Get a dif version than what your hoping for jazz/belli/goldy etc then you are now still far below last season
Depending on what we are comparing you cant say going into the year nyy could expect more from beli goldy than verdugo rizzo. Nearly exact same risks as what went wrong last year. Similar upsides
The problem is that you cant improve the lineup when all of the lineup is already calculated to just barely (if it does) replace soto. There are just not enough positions. Which of course is what makes suprstars valuable. If they had managed to make up that gap in sevral lss players or maybe they land bregman thres still a chance to have an equal or btter lineup
jerseyjohn
Rizzo and Verdugo blew in 23 so them continuing that trend in 24 wasn’t a surprise. You can’t replace Soto so you try to make incremental improvements.
The only uncertainty now is do they get a guy for 2nd or 3rd. Jazz moves to 2nd or stays at 3rd depending. I predict another 90+ wins, we’ll see what happens past that.
Baseballisthebest
Dusty, they still will not have replaced Soto even with all of those players. They are still down several wins.
Yankees have added 3.5 WAR in position players and lost 7.9 from Soto alone. Adding in a full year of Chisholm is only 1.2 WAR and the Yankees don’t gain over what they got from Cabrera and Berti.
Its still a total of 10.3 WAR lost for position players. A net 6.8 WAR lost.
On the pitching side they added 5.0 WAR and lost 4.8 WAR. A net 0.2 WAR gain.
Older players including a 35 year old Stanton, 33 year old Judge, and 37 year old Goldschmidt does mean inevitable declines. Not counting those declines, the Yankees are down 6+ wins as of today.
Cashman has lots of time and a huge number of free agents still available.
Baseballisthebest
Projections? Please! Use their actual performance like you did for the players lost.
The Yankees are 6 wins lower overall today.
TrillionaireTeamOperator
In all seriousness- all the other options weren’t much better despite a little bit of youth compared to Walker, etc. and they’d have all required the Yankees giving up draft picks, committing multiple years to aging players, etc.
Ultimately one year of Goldschmidt is most long term strategic move over the other options across the board- internal, external trades, other free agents, etc.
TrillionaireTeamOperator
*compared to Goldschmidt- sorry, multi-tasking with the SMU vs Penn State game on the television.
Yanksfan1030
Yanks are building a team. The Mets only cared aboht signing the biggest name. Mets could have used fried… as their ACE. or snell… or
Burnes. But their big pitching addition is Frankie montas. A Yankee failure.
metsin4
That’s what was said about Severino last year.
larkraxm
If you say so. The Mets look more like the Angels than a serious contender for the NL East. They have one good offensive player with no protection in the line-up and no pitching. Griffin Canning, Frankie Montas, and Clay Holmes, are not exactly Garret Cole, Max Fried, and Carlos Rodon, with an emerging Clark Schmidt, and the AL rookie of the year in Luis Gil. The odd man out in the Yankee’s rotation, Stroman, would be the Mets’ best starter. What the hell is a Met?
larkraxm
He was 11-7 with a 1.6 WAR. Wow! You really showed us!! I guess the fact that he wasn’t injured was a change, but he was literally one and a half wins above replacement.
bwmiller79
Bah, the Yankees have added all big names, Devin Williams, Bellinger, Fried, Goldschmidt – all the biggest names.
Fried was the worst contract of the off season outside of the contract the Mets gave Soto. Fried has a history of injuries and the Yankees will be paying him 30M+ for six years …. the six years after the ’26 season. The Frankie Montas deal is far and away a better contract. There is a good chance that Montas will be as good or better than Fried over the next three seasons.
The_M4N
miller79, I’ll take that bet.
rocky7
Oh please….Frankie Montas is not better than Fried making only 15 starts…..lets start the betting on your comment that Montas will be better than Fried over the next 3 seasons…..hope you don’t need the money!
bwmiller79
Well ok, I don’t have anything to bet, so can’t bet, but I think Fried’s arm is more cooked than Montas’s arm, that’s what I base my assumption on.
Now I can’t say for certain but I did listen to all the Braves games last season, and although Fried had a decent September, there was a noticeable difference between his effectiveness before his latest injury and after his return from injury. That difference was seemingly in his confidence and the teams confidence in his starts. Hard to say how you can read into that listening to the radio but I picked up on something.
As far as Montas goes, I didn’t listen to or watch a single game of his last season, but have always liked his mechanics and his build, at 6’2 250 he reminds me a little of Bartolo Colon. I think Montas is going to be come back player of the year.
Raymond Flagstaff
Lmao the salt still burning?
ReyDay
Mets are smart and building this team the way they want. Signing pitchers to long term deals rarely work out. They will most likely get Alonso back on a friendly team deal. And keep adding over the years. Soto is 26 so if it takes a year or two to build around him that’s fine. Still leaves a good 3-5 year window where Soto will still be in his prime.
slider32
The draft picks hurt the Polar Bear!
Raymond Flagstaff
Yea because impulsive strings of moves to plan c are always much better than patient well capitalized management
mlb fan
“Run by Wilpons now”…When did you ever see the Wilpons run a $300M+ payroll? The Yankees do that consistently. Other than not signing Soto, the Yankees have a had a pretty good off-season in my opinion.
I really don’t get the incessant complaints. I’m guessing at least 25 other teams would gladly trade their own off-season for the Yankees off-season.
Raymond Flagstaff
Welcome to the back of the line. Always some ancient stars to sign after the big boy brings in the big fish
DR2020
spot on. it filled most of their needs. And then not stuck with long-term contracts either. Next year they can regroup and fill whatever positions are still needed like for space if Ben Rice is not developed.
Raymond Flagstaff
They probaly would. Obviously the yankees are covering their loss decently, until the reasons this wasnt plan A put a damper on the enthusiasm for dumpster diving and overpaying
Raymond Flagstaff
Quoting inflationary numbers is irrelevant
Nats ain't what they used to be
Yanks saving spot for Vlad Jr next year. No better player would take 1 year deal.
rocky7
Don’t think so….Vlad isn’t half the player his dad was…..and the NY press would eat him alive….and there would be a lot to eat given his girth too…LOL
Blue Baron
Raymond: Fried was not a budget signing.
Raymond Flagstaff
Yea but i wasnt gon a write an essay. It was more about how each move looks exactly like how the wilpons would have reacted to yankees getting soto. Bring in as many names as u can and overpay to get it done
KnicksFanCavsFan
@Ray
What a bad comparison. I don’t like the move either, but it appears as if the Yanks have improved at 1b, LF, the starting staff, and bullpen and likely aren’t done yet. The Mets signed Soto and have been shopping in the scratch and dent section all winter since then.
That being said were Santana, Profar, Santander THAT expensive to get? I wouldn’t been been chill with keeping Belli at 1B and signing Jesse Winker to play LF.
MZ311
Brain dead take
vikingbluejay67
Hah. Outside of Soto, the Mets are still the Mets. Haven’t done much else.
Blue Baron
vikingbluejay67: Have the Mets missed any deadlines for making moves?
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Baron
Agree that if the Mets are done for the hot stove that I am not impressed, but I very much doubt that they are done.
The Nets do not yet have a playoff caliber rotation, but they could easily grab Alonso and Bregman if they want.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Mets not Nets
vikingbluejay67
I’m sure the Mets have more moves to make, no doubt. But up to now the Yankees have been doing more to fill holes than the Mets. That’s all I’m saying.
Raymond Flagstaff
“Doing more” is not a goal. Espcially when “doing things” is adding aging, damaged, or questionable players
larkraxm
The Angels also surrounded Mike Trout and Ohtani with bulldogs like Griffin Canning, and it didn’t work out for them. I’m sure the Mets have more moves to make, but they are also filling up their rotation with guys that wouldn’t make the Yankees roster. Just an observation.
Raymond Flagstaff
Yankees dont have the money to spend on non ex superstars lol
larkraxm
No. I guess they can sign guys in April like Snell and Montgomery last year. They didn’t sign Montas, Holmes, and Canning to not make 3/5 of their starting rotation. I’m not questioning the moves that they haven’t made, I am wondering about the ones they have made. Seems like a weird plan to me. Maybe they are geniuses and Canning and Holmes will be battling for a CY Young with Frankie Montas??
slider32
Bregman and Burns are the 2 big prizes left! Cohen is in on both of them
slider32
Cashman is wheeling and dealing, but Cohen got Soto! Both did very well so far this winter.
slider32
Judge!
mlb fan
“Haven’t done much else”..The Mets gave Soto a historically large, near $800M contract and you say “not much else?”.
Isn’t that a bit like saying “outside of the one serious tragedy, the Titanic had a perfect safety record?”.
Raymond Flagstaff
No you see what you do is you add up all the WARs on the yankees, then you compare it to Soto’s 7, and then you say clearly the yankees have succeeded.
vikingbluejay67
Soto ain’t gonna win a World Series by himself. Mets still need to make improvements. Yankees have done more so far.
Benjamin101677
I like the Yankees sending in different positions that just Soto. Even the Mets still more pieces to be a solid team
Jesse Chavez enthusiast
I’m not a fan of either team but I’d rather have Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Devin Williams and Jonathan Lasagna over Soto, Montas, and Canning.
mlb fan
“But I’d rather have”..You are correct; sir. Spreading your money around(instead of to 1 guy)is always a better move than investing everything into one guy.
Raymond Flagstaff
Thats actually pure nonsense. Its always better to have the star and then the other players are your advantage. If all your addons are to match the production of the star you have no margin to improve
Raymond Flagstaff
As biased as that comp is its certainly not in any way clear that its true. @jesse
slider32
The Mets have to beat the Dodgers!
Blue Baron
slider32: Not in December.
Pads Fans
Soto (7.9), Siri (1.8), Senga (4.5), Montas (0.6), Holmes (0.7 as reliever), and Canning (0.3). Senga, a top 5 SP in 2023, was out almost all of last season (5.1 IP) so he is an addition many are missing.
14 WAR total added. 4 WAR, including Alonso, in position player WAR lost. 6.1 WAR lost on the pitching side. So far, the Mets are up 3-4 WAR for 2025. The offseason is not over yet. I don’t think Stearns and Cohen are done.
theonlydynasty
Except Holmes will personally lose you 10 of those games on the mound.
melfman1
Oh please… the Mets rotation is straight trash. I wouldn’t want one of them over the Yankees 4th and 5th starters.
Jerry Hairston Jr's Toupee
Yeah, tis a shame Soto doesn’t pitch too. Mets fan drinkin dat Kool-Aid….
TrillionaireTeamOperator
It was actually Flavor-Aid. The People’s Temple was too cheap for Kool-Aid.
metsin4
Senga when healthy is better then any Yankee starter
Raymond Flagstaff
Cole when healthy is as good as senga healthy imo
VonPurpleHayes
That’s insane. Come on. Senga at peak form is not better than Cole or even Fried. Stop it. I’m a huge Senga fan. He’s a #3 or lower on the Yankees.
Raymond Flagstaff
Nonsense. Besides we’re talking minute irrelevant differences, what will matter is who stays healthy and none of them are a good bet. Certsinly not an 8 year bet
bwmiller79
@melfman, I like this take even though I think the Mets rotation is going to be better than it looks on paper. I especially like it if they call up Sproat and he cuts down the walks. Sproat could be MLB’s best pitching prospect.
Senga and Montas could avoid injuries and have their best years.
Clay Holmes could have a Seth Lugo type of transition from the bullpen to the rotation.
That’s four big ifs.
And then it’s Blackburn, Peterson, MeGill, and potentially Tidwell.
Could be real choppy.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Raymond
Devin Williams, Max Fried and Cody Bellinger does not equal the Wilpons
At this point, Josh Bell is a better hitter than Goldie. But Goldie is still good with the glove and not too expensive.
Not sure Yankees are done.
Raymond Flagstaff
Disagree. Its almost exactly what wilpons would have done.
slider32
Ill take Goldy over Bell ,! he has more winning traits and intangilbes
Matthew De Lorge
What’s the Mets rotation? I mean, besides Soto, what have the Mets done? You are making a bad close a starter now?
Raymond Flagstaff
We will see, wasnt aware the season started tomorrow. The mets arent panicked like the yankees. Patience is a virtue believe it or not
larkraxm
The Yankees aren’t in a state of panic. Max Fried had a deal done 11 hours after Soto signed with the Mets. That kind of deal doesn’t happen that fast. Their plans all along were Soto and these guys, not Soto or these guys.
Raymond Flagstaff
Pure speculation. Yea they might have recognized at some earlier point they couldnt compete for soto… ill give u that. The rest i do not buy tho. It all (fried) reeks of panic by management not wanting to be perceived as lesser. 8 years for proven breakable pitching. My explanation is simplest therefore most likely correct
Matthew De Lorge
Getting one of the better FA pitchers, lefthanded, and a ground ball machine in a field with small dimensions on the corners is a panic move? I guess if they sat around and let the price go up further that would have been the smart move?
Fried was impressed with his meeting and likely wanted to sign there. If anything it’s a mistake on his part not sitting around longer. Good on him wanting to go to a team and getting it done quickly.
Raymond Flagstaff
8 years is the panic, be honest
larkraxm
Your explanation completes your narrative, but look at who the Yankees have acquired. Fried was connected to the Yankees before Soto signed did a massive deal hours after he signed, and is not an offensive player. The Yankees have been trying to upgrade the starting pitching staff since last year. They backed out of a deal for Flaherty because of his medicals. They were not trying to go into this next season with Cortes and Stroman in the rotation. Devin Williams is a Clay Holmes replacement/upgrade, Bellinger is a Verdugo replacement/upgrade, and Goldschmidt is a Rizzo replacement/ upgrade. None of them would be considered a Soto “replacement” and I believe that all of these moves would have been completed with or without Soto. You just keep being patient. In FA the more patient you are the less options you have.
Baseballisthebest
Lark, enough of the reality. Yankees fans don’t want to hear it.
larkraxm
No it isn’t. Honestly, Rodon got seven years. That deal was done already. You might not like it personally or for your team, but that wasn’t a pivot. The “plan” was Soto and Fried.
jerseyjohn
Meh… Pitching is always expensive. Long term deals typically turn ugly at the end. Fried good or bad will be a memory by the time Soto is overpaid. I was happy the Yankees “lost” Soto. 12 years 600 mil was the most pain I would’ve endured to get the rest of his peak. Soto and Fried likely the same age also…
theonlydynasty
I dont think it was a panic as much as a we’re not getting in a bidding war. Plus it ran Burnes price way up for any competitor
slider32
Please compare the Mets to the Dodgers !
Raymond Flagstaff
So much salt mocking clay.
Baseballisthebest
De Lorge,
Senga, Montas, Holmes.
3.14 ERA is extremely good. If he repeats that as a starter he is pretty close to top ten in the league. Several relievers become good starters in the last few years like Wacha, Lugo, King and the Red Sox new Ace Crochet, so its not a stretch to think he will be a good starter.
Do you think Cohen spent $750 million on Soto to leave his rotation less than the best?
Killer of Ignorance
The Wilpons…Those must have been painful years for you.
Blue Baron
Killer: The early years in the 1980s were great.
Raymond Flagstaff
nah i know I enjoyed myself, but thanks for your concern!!
A. Judge
You sound like a Mets fan….
Blue Baron
You sound like a Yankees fan.
metsfan1992
Alonso to the Mets confirmed lol
Raymond Flagstaff
Looking good for the mets to get him at a normal price now, hopfully alonso moves forward now
Joe says...
Depends on the Nats.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Joe
Agree, Mets and Nats are the two most plausible remaining options
Mets 50 percent
Nats 40 percent
Mariners 5 percent
Dbacks 5 percent if someone takes Monty first
Mynameisnoname
7/158 isn’t happening. What a terrible miscalculation that looks like now.
I’m guessing he looks to save face and goes with a 2/60, 3/90 opt out after 1 and 2 prove it contract.
Mets would love for him to perform, opt out and back up the Brinks truck for Vlad Jr- although rumblings of a massive extension in TOR may squash that theory.
Raymond Flagstaff
I think pete takes max contrsct value not a prove it. He alread proved it this is the best he will do
Mynameisnoname
Very possible. What does that look like- 5/125?
On a pillow contract he could get the OPS back over .800 with 40+ taters. But there is risk of back to back career low outputs then maybe he’s looking at a Walker-esque redo.
Interesting to see.
Raymond Flagstaff
Im gonna let stearns handle it lol. Idk honestly. Could be, 5 years means mets should only have 1 or 2 years of real questionable production
rct
“I’m guessing he looks to save face and goes with a 2/60, 3/90 opt out after 1 and 2 prove it contract.”
If he does this, it would be a horrible move on his part. Whoever signs him to a 5 or so year deal is doing so with the idea that the last two years would probably not be worth much. If Pete would accept a 2/$60 million deal, he would have been signed already, even with the opt-outs. If Pete wants to maximize his dollars, he should be pushing for 4 or 5 years at ~$25 million.
Mynameisnoname
It’s possible but 4/100, 5/124 after turning down 7/158 is a big pride pill to swallow.
He’s coming off his worst year. Seems like a prime prove it, re-establish value candidate considering he is always healthy, only 30 and would be driving in Lindor and Soto all year.
Raymond Flagstaff
Prove it wont work. Even if he does he will be 31 32 or 33 and will have the same knocks against him. Now is his time to set his family for a couple generations
padam
@rct, I’m not sure he even gets that. If he could, he’d have been signed. I think the evidence is there in the Yankees signing Goldschmidt. They want in on a Vladdy as well. O one is really looking at Alonso as a 4-5 year staple unless he settles for $100M.
JackStrawb
@Mynameisnoname You don’t want to give a player like Alonso, a bad 1Bman in steep decline, opt outs—because he’s extremely likely to stick around and get even worse on your dime.
Not saying you, but it’s interesting that most fans assume Alonso has a few decent years left. That’s far from a sure thing. His slide has been steep since 2022. In 2024 he was worth about half what he was worth in 2022. He’s one of the worst fielders in baseball. And there’s no compelling reason to believe his slide won’t continue unabated.
Dave Kingman v. 1972-1975 is Pete’s fate. The only real question is, will that arrive in 2025 or 2026?
Pads Fans
That Joel Sherman rumor has been debunked thoroughly by both the Mets and Boras.
Boras has said that Alonso turned down a 5 year offer from the Mets prior to the 2023 season and rumors were it was between $125 million and $140 million, but I have seen no verified offers or any actual numbers from either side since then.
SFGRab
…..and Vladdy to Yankees ’25’ confirmed. Okay maybe only 95%
Rational_Mets_Fan
Pete’s coming back to the Mets. Stearns has not sugar coated it, “we want Pete to be a Met”. Cohen has deep pockets but also a desire to have players leave a legacy which, sadly, compared to other teams they lack. Pete is also a player that cares about winning. Sometimes a little too much, which gets him into slumps. I do not believe last year is the beginning of a decline but the pressures of a contract year. I’m not going to opine on contract $$$ or length but I’m very confident he will be a Met for the foreseeable future.
garthvader12
Da Jankees Lose.
Wrian Washman
Daaa jankees went to the WS
Blue Baron
And they got schooled by the Dodgers.
coloredpaper
Well, tbf, the Dodgers also schooled the NL (outscored NYM 46-26 and shut them out twice; and a closer series with the Padres 24-21, but shut them out the last 2 games)
The Yankees also schooled the AL, even if the competition wasn’t as strong as the NL. But outscoring their opponents 44-32 in their 2 AL Series is still pretty good work.
Although they did lose one of the best players in the game, the Yankees seem to be doing a good job or spreading the talent on the rest of the roster instead if keeping it top-heavy.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Baron
No shame in losing the WS to a team with three hall of famers at the top of the lineup.
Raymond Flagstaff
There is whe the little brother cross town rival was the team with the shot to beat them. The stole your best player
Mynameisnoname
Judge was worth 11.2 WAR last year without any line-up protection. He is their best player until father time proves otherwise.
Soto is a better bet to perform closer to 6 than last year’s 8 WAR with a large RF to roam and a big drop off in protection. I’m guessing 30 HR and more BB instead of the 41 dongs we saw this year with negative defensive value.
Raymond Flagstaff
Judge is bad ball hitter why he is good in regular season grbage in playoffs, also passed peak and a giant. He was not their best player, might be now tho
Matthew De Lorge
A few bad managerial decisions would have had the Yankees up in the series going back to LA. Dave Roberts isn’t schooling anyone as a manager except Boone, who is awful admittedly.
Mynameisnoname
Judge plays a much better RF than Soto. Juan only has an accurate arm. Terrible routes and range- he’ll be exposed in Queens.
Soto is an all-time clutch hitter, would love to still have him, but calling Judge a bad ball hitter is lazy. He may have issues between the ears in the playoffs, but you don’t go over 200 wRC+ and tease 60 HR on hanging sliders only.
rct
“Well, tbf, the Dodgers also schooled the NL”
Disagree. Pads took them to the limit and Mets took them to a Game 6. “Schooling” to me means a sweep, maybe one loss. Also, the Yankees gaffed away two games and could have forced a Game 7 if they were more fundamentally sound and had a different manager.
Dodgers were/are a great team, but not exactly dominant.
Raymond Flagstaff
How does a 39 year old league average hitter do that exactly?
Raymond Flagstaff
I disagree
padam
@rct – Dodgers also didn’t have some of their main guns like Glasnow, May, Kershaw…
Killer of Ignorance
Best player? Get real. Aaron Judge, the reigning MVP, is the NYY best player.
Killer of Ignorance
Now you’re just spitting out nonsense. Listen Raymond, just because you say it doesn’t make it so.
Baseballisthebest
Judge had a 10.8 WAR after 4.5 WAR in 2023. At age 33 which will he be in 2025? He had a -9 DRS last year so his defense was very bad.
Soto is 26. Soto had a -1 DRS. Take a look at StatCast. Soto would have hit more HR in Citi than Yankee Stadium last year. 6-7 WAR is top 10 in baseball. He will give the Mets 6-7 years of that production or better.
The_M4N
@isthebwst, no one can tell with certainty what will be. But, to question which Judge will show up in 2025 based on his 2023 WAR, without considering the time he missed due to a freak injury, and the effects of the injury, is a bit shortsighted (at best).
Baseballisthebest
Will he be injured in 2025 like he was in 2023?Will he be a 6.1 WAR like he was in 2021 when he was healthy?
One thing we know for sure is that players decline in their 30s. The only thing we don’t know is how much will Judge decline. To 2023 level? To 2021 level? Between there and 2024?
Nothing freak about a torn tendon due to playing the field. Old players get hurt more often. Just a fact of aging. Judge had a -9 DRS in 2024 in the OF so soon he will be moved to DH.
You are being disingenuous at best.
The_M4N
@isthebest, you can ask those questions about every single player, and all of those scenarios could possibly happen. So, it’s not like you’re interjecting some revolutionary, forward thinking. So, stop pretending. But bringing up his 2023, where he missed 50 games due to freak injury, as a comparator or to make a projection is, quite frankly… dumb.
Let’s keep it going…
His 2021 was a .287/
.373/.544 slash line and 11DRS. Somehow, not surprising, you think that’s bad. Dumb.
He was playing our of his position all year last year to make room for Soto. Somehow, not surprising, you think that’s a bad thing, although it gave his team the best chance to win. Look at his DRS when he plays RF. Dumb.
Name the number of players that have missed 50+ games for running into a wall in the last 5 years. Dumb.
In sum, you’re full of sheet.
Jbigz12
Disingenuous to use his CF numbers when he’s going back to RF. Let’s discuss Soto’s 2022 LF numbers!
Mynameisnoname
@bistb. I see 11.2 at FanGraphs for Judge, but there is certainly expected regression within the next three years.
Luckily, Judge’s defensive value will age better in RF and the ferocity and deviation gap in his contact quality should help him stay powerful well into his 30’s. Will the average begin to slip? Possibly, but with ~140 GP a reasonable expectation, I’m comfortable in saying he’ll average 8+ WAR through at least 2027.
Baseballisthebest
If I am making you try to insult me, I am on the right track. It means you don’t want to even try to see the facts. Too painful fire you. Easier to be a delusional Yankees fan.
Yes, do look at his DRS in RF the last couple of seasons. A -2. Judge was worse on defense in RF than Soto.
Face it, Judge is getting old and has lost multiple steps on defense since the last time he was good in his age 29 season.
That Judge missed that time doesn’t make it a fluke, it says he is old. A 27 year old Judge doesn’t miss that much time.
Just so you know, running into the wall is the #1 cause of IL trips for outfielder. Look it up.
When you actually can make sense, come on back.
jaysmooth2121
& they lost it
Doug Dueck
but they went, which is more than you can say for your team
Blue Baron
Doug Dueck: They made it for the first time in 15 years. Even a blind hog occasionally finds an acorn.
slider32
Squirrel/ Nut
Killer of Ignorance
15 years. Oh my. How long did the Red Sox and Cubs go? 86 years for Boston till God felt sorry for them and let them win a few. 🙂
Blue Baron
Killer: Your handle really should be Keeper of Ignorance.
Raymond Flagstaff
Yankees now using the ‘we made a world series’ argument. Lmao roles reveresed wherever you look. Are they humble yet? Nope still learning to cope.
Killer of Ignorance
All you clowns seem to have forgotten who won the one and only Subway series. Ahhh, such sweet memories.
Raymond Flagstaff
Almost your entire rotation was on steroids, dont worry none of us care about it. Its like the stros to me. Cheaters robbed themselves and half the league of a level playing field
The_M4N
@Killer, i haven’t forgotten who won that series…. It was Roger Clemens’ bat “flip” down the first base line.
The_M4N
@Flag, yes, we know, only Yankees were roiding.
Killer of Ignorance
Who could ever forget that scene, m4n? I thought Clemens was going psycho. Guess it pissed Clemens off that he couldn’t get Piazza out.
Killer of Ignorance
Umm Ray, back then at least half the players were using something. Or I suppose the Mets were squeaky clean? 🙂
JackStrawb
It’s a bad pickup when Josh Naylor was available for a lottery ticket and Carlos Santana was available for nothing but 12m.
Killer of Ignorance
Cleveland wanted too much, and Naylor is a head case. The Yankees don’t like Mr. “Rock the baby”.
vaderzim
Dude has something that Soto doesn’t… an MVP. Unfortunately he’s beyond those days.
Raymond Flagstaff
I think he’ll have a decent year to be honest. Couldnt care less about mvp awards personally. Lindor was shafted last year, whatever
Killer of Ignorance
Shafted? Look at the numbers. Yeah, Lindor was super clutch but still… Ohtani is Ohtani. Unanimous I believe. “Lindor shafted…” (roll eyes)
Raymond Flagstaff
Says a member of the fan base who wants to embellish how bad sotos defense is. Which is it chum? Defense matter or not? Lindor was elite defense at most or second most important position, ignoring C and P. He also changed the mets season around when he moved o the leadoff spot. Ohtani playedhalf games surrounded by hall of fame caliber hitters
Dodgers ere in with or without ohtani. Lindor was the most valuable player
Killer of Ignorance
Well Raymond, of course defense matters. In the back and forth the other day where you were determined to devalue the moves the Yankees were making and I was saying NY will be a better all-around club in 2025 without Soto, so of course I’m going to point out Soto’s weaknesses. As for Lindor, I had given very little thought to his case for MVP, as a matter of fact, I wasn’t even aware that Lindor had finished 2nd. It so happens that as a lifelong Yankee fan, I pay a lot more attention to the AL as opposed to the NL .I could be wrong because I don’t comb through the comments a lot at MLBTR but it seems to me you believe what you want to believe with a very strong bias toward the Mets which I assume is your very favorite team. And as a Yankee fan, I’m going to view their moves with a positive outlook as in the glass half full. At this point I’m hoping for good things from all the additions the Yankees have made. But if they don’t work out, I will be the 1st to admit and complain about their shortcomings. However, I like to consider myself honest and objective and I will try to see the other person’s point of view. But as I am sure you know, the level of discourse here sometimes makes objective debate impossible. You know as well as I do that the Yankees receive more criticism and bad-mouthing than pretty much any other team. I usually try to ignore juvenile comments but sometimes you just have to respond to certain ones that are so ludicrous, even knowing it won’t do any good or change anybody’s mind. You seem to be a passionate fan and knowledgeable about the sport, and I can admire that because I am the same way. Hope that all made sense. Anyway, Soto is a heluva player and I’m sure you will have a lot of fun and pleasure watching him in the years to come.
slider32
Goldy will be motivated to win the world series this year, which is a good thing, I wouldn’t count him out!
BITA
Funny that Goldschmidt won his MVP at age 34. And people act like Arenado is washed up when he’s headed into his age 34 season.
Raymond Flagstaff
Many players do. Case by case. Goldy had one of the best careers of anyone going. Arenado is different
BITA
They aren’t THAT different……
Arenado looked washed up before his MVP caliber 2022 season.
Gwynning
Newsflash Blackpink: every player is different. Arenado is washed at 34, Goldy wasn’t.
BITA
Goldschmidt looked like he was in decline before his 2022 season. Just like Arenado. Assuming a 34 year old is washed up is ridiculously stupid.
Gwynning
That’s your opinion! Lmao
Pads Fans
Gwynning, Goldy was coming off a 6.0 WAR 2021 season. Arenado is coming of a 2.5 WAR 20224 season. Arenado can no longer hit. At that point Goldy still could. Now Goldy is coming off a 1.3 WAR, 98 OPS+ season. He is washed too. Just years older than when Arenado lost his bat.
Pads Fans
Joel, Goldy had a 6.0 WAR season in 2021, before his 7.7 WAR MVP 2022 season. Aren’t you supposedly a Cards fan? Shouldn’t you know that?
Mynameisnoname
@BITA Arenado’s savant page shows below average contact quality since 2020. As a gap hitter, the cavernous dimensions of Coors propped up his numbers from very good expected stats to all star level. He’s been very unimpressive 3 out of 4 seasons with the Cardinals.
Goldy is 90th percentile or better red across the board throughout his career and is simply a better hitter than Arenado with much better metrics still despite his age.
Arenado is obviously more valuable defensively still playing an awesome hot corner, but yes, Arenado is fairly washed as a hitter.
Gwynning
Bat speed is waaayyy down. Great post Myname. Arenado will always have his glove, maybe not the range, but he’s close to hitting the wall now at 34.
BITA
Goldschmidt won an MVP at age 34.
Gwynning
We know that and we heard you the first time, Blackpink. We’re talking about Nolan, unless you’d like to change the subject, as you’re apt to do.
YourDreamGM
Goldschmidt hard wood bat smash ball hard still. Nolan might as well use a pool noodle.
YourDreamGM
Only award Nolan is getting is comeback player. Is he coming back? Yes unfortunately his contract hasn’t expired yet.
Pads Fans
In 2022 Arenado’s Batting Run Value and Fielding Run Value were both above 94th percentile. His OPS+ was 151 and his wRC+ was 149. He also had a 7.7 WAR.
He did all of that as a Cardinal.
Baseballisthebest
Gwynning I see you responding to a Blackpink and Pads Fans responding to Joel, but no one posting under those names. Who are you talking to?
BITA
They are talking to me fella. But I have Pads fan on mute so who knows why he’s talking. And Gwyinning is headed towards a mute.
Gwynning
Don’t threaten me with a good time, Blackpink/BITA! Make like Nike and just do it. I’m ready for the day when I no longer get to see your laughable drivel.
Baseballisthebest
That answers that. Two of the best commenters on the board and you don’t like them. That tells me what I wanted to know and more.
BITA
What are you a Padres fan too????
I just muted Gwynning. You want me to mute you next just say so it will be done. Sounds like you do.
Baseballisthebest
Red Sox fan for 60 years, but feel free to mute me if it makes you feel better. I don’t mind.
Motor City Beach Bum
He muted you. Don’t be too sad about it 😉
Motor City Beach Bum
Joel/Blackpink/BITA muted me as well. He reminds me of my kids when they didn’t get their way…at 3 years old. Oh well, he’ll get banned in a month or two and be back spouting off. Cheers dude.
Gwynning
What a Bum! Haha, Happy Holidays Bummer! All the best to you and the family
Motor City Beach Bum
Same to you and yours dude. Cheers.
Motor City Beach Bum
BITA…Jose Abreu wasn’t far off a great season when he joined the Astros last year and then…. he fell off a cliff. It happens and quite often right around that age. Arenado and Goldschmidt declined last year and that could well be the drop-off for them.
BITA
Christian Walker just got 3 years 60 million and he’s the same age as Arenado. And he got it from the same team that signed and is still paying Abreu.
Motor City Beach Bum
Christian Walker has maintained his offensive and defensive stats unlike Arenado. Try another argument dude that one doesn’t fly.
Pads Fans
Walker has had 3 of the best seasons of his carer in his 30s.
2022 – 5.0 WAR and 125 OPS+
2023 – 3.8 WAR and 122 OPS+
2024 – 2.6 WAR and 121 OPS+
He has lost a bit of range on defense, but is still a very good overall defensive player. His bat still plays at 20+% above average.
BITA
Christian Walker is a 1b Arenado is a 3b. And Arenado was an MVP candidate as recently as 2022 which Walker never has been and never will be.
Motor City Beach Bum
We know where they play. You are the one who brought up Walker Joel! 2022 was two years ago. Your comp to Walker was off. Learn to admit when you are wrong.
BITA
Who is we????
Walker and Arenado are the same age and are owed the same amount of money once you factor in the money Colorado owes and the deferrals. It’s about as good of a comp that exists out there. Now why is Walker a good signing and Arenado washed up?
And didn’t you want your team to trade for Arenado? Of course you did but like I told you he has a NTC and nobody would choose to play in Detroit.
Motor City Beach Bum
I don’t want Arenado in Detroit. Walker’s offensive stats were way better than Arenado’s and Arenado is declining.
BITA
What stats? Offensive stats?
I don’t care dude. You argue about this garbage like it matters. You are just being a tool. Peace.
Motor City Beach Bum
It’s called a discussion Joel. The thing that adults do instead of muting people with different opinions and calling people names. Enjoy your Sunday and rest up your poor old mute button finger 😉
BITA
It’s not a discussion when you and 2 other people i have on ignore are ganging up on me for no reason except something I said to you in the past. That’s lame. A discussion is 1 on 1 not 3 trolls against me.
You have been muted. I don’t owe you my time. Merry Christmas.
JackStrawb
Goldy’s going to the HOF. He’ll manage.
Pads Fans
Many players have gone to the HOF and the vast majority have still been somewhere between below average to terrible from age 36 on just like Goldy.
orange milk
Alonso price dropping by the day
padam
My first thought – another door closes. Dave Kingman lucky if he gets his offer from last year.
Raymond Flagstaff
Dave kingman? Uh no
padam
Other than hitting HRs, what else is he actually doing?
YourDreamGM
Mets just need to sign Santana and we can grab the popcorn.
JackStrawb
@orange milk Some of the suspects who might have bailed out Pete have ‘other options.’ Every one of COL, LAA, and Oakland has a promising young guy at the position.
Interesting that 30 GMs have noticed that across MLB, all 30 teams, only three teams had 1Bman 32 and older who put up as many as two wins. Expecting Pete to buck that trend is a fool’s game.
southi
Not surprising since they missed out on Walker. I guess now the question is, do the sign Bregman for third base and the move Jazz to second, or the outfield?
BigRedMachine
I may be wrong, but it seems like if the Yankees wanted C. Walker they would have got him by outbidding everyone else. Perhaps Walker did not want to play in NY? I don’t know. I do know that as a Mariners fan, if the M’s are not going to trade for Y. Diaz or J. Naylor, they better sign C. Santana quickly because this 1b market is drying up.
Wrian Washman
Yanks aren’t commiting big money to 1b nor should they when I could personally play 1b and be an upgrade over what they had last year.
JackStrawb
@Wrian Washman The Yankees got -1.1 fWAR from 1B in 2024. It’s probably the one position where they can gain the most just by adding a competent regular.
But instead they spent $12.5m to see if they can watch Goldschmidt’s continued steep decline into retirement, instead of locking in two wins (and three wins overall) by trading not much for Lowe, or actually committing to the position with someone like Walker.
The Yankees will spend $80m on add’l payroll in 2025 just to try to pip what Soto projects to produce next season, and they actually dealt away two wins in Cortes and Poteet to do it.
Just by trading for Lowe they could have avoided signing a 3-4 WAR pitcher in Fried for 8 years, picked up 3 WAR at 1B, and had another $68m with which to add the missing 4 WAR.
Cashman doesn’t seem to understand even the basics of his job, staggering from old player in decline to old player in decline, and dealing away starting pitchers as if they were as easy to come by as bags of donuts.
Imagine if Steingrabber had had the sense to sign Stearns or his like years back, an above average GM who understands his craft. He doesn’t need to be the best in the game when he can run top 3 payrolls year in and year out—he just needs to be reasonably above average at the gig.
Instead you have Cashman. It must be miserable to watch him sign Rodon, or deal away Cortes but keep Stroman, or to have watched him sign Rizzo to that 2-year deal, or the trade for Bader, or for Donaldson…. extraordinary that he has a job when his skill set rivals those of Billy Eppler and Brodie Van Wagenen.
Wrian Washman
@Jack The “all-in” approach has failed throughout 99.9% of baseball history until the Dodgers pulled it off last year spending a CBA agreement altering, disgusting amount of money and locking up 3 HOF in their prime. It was bound to happen eventually but that’s an outlier not standard operating procedure. 1) Why do you assume a 34 year old Walker is going to be as good or better moving forward? 2) a declining Goldy on a one year deal cannot possibly hurt you. 3) I know there’s usually no point in arguing with people who look at WAR like the end all be all stat but I’ll attempt to anyways. You’re attempting to compare the value of WAR between pitchers and batters equally and your logic is already flawed for that alone. I blame Brian Kenney from the MLB network for this epidemic where every casual fan regurgitates one of the most flawed stats in the game and use it as a “gotcha” to ‘win’ baseball debates. The same fans that claim the amount of times you recorded a hit against the amount of times you recorded an out is “outdated” when it’s quite literally the batters only job. Heck they’re starting to say ERA doesn’t matter either to justify ridiculous things like Strider winning a cy young with an ERA approaching 4 because of “FIP” these fans crack me up. You don’t get to cherry pick favorable stats and ignore others to fit your narrative I’m sorry. 4) Loosing Cortes doesn’t hurt, he’s a #3 on bad teams and a #4 on good ones. Those pitchers are quite literally everywhere and every year several teams spawn those in from the farm. Fried, Cole, Rodon, Gil, Schmidt is a better 1-5 than most MLB teams but yeah losing Cortes is what’s gonna do the Yankees in this year give me a break. I’ll take Stroman as a long reliever and occasional spot starter how many teams have 6 viable options? Steve Cohen is Rockefeller/Rothschild elite level rich and the Dodgers are paying the GDP of a small country in deferred payments to players after they retire. You can’t expect the Yankees to behave like them. Sorry but most Yankee fans are quite content with the moves being made. They have as good a chance as anyone in the AL to go back to the WS and they’re still not done adding.
JoeBrady
to justify ridiculous things like Strider winning a cy young
======================
Strider didn’t come remotely close to winning the C.Y. Award. Snell received 28 out of 30 1st place votes, and Strider received exactly -0-.
Larry Bernandez 1324IM
As a Mariners fan, I’d rather let them play Locklear, than add Santana for the third time.
Troutahni
What’s up with the Mariners? They arguably have the best 1-5 pitching staff in baseball and they can’t over pay for a couple of bats. I’ve been to Seattle once, that was 5 years ago. It’s a big city and they have fans that I’m sure make big bank in the Tech sector. They also have a deep water port. Why can’t they play with the big boys enough to fill a roster that has the potential to win in the AL West? The Angels dominated in the first decade of this century and the Astros dominated the second decade. Texas won a world series and have been competitive. The Ms fans should be complaining about cheap owners way more than anyone else. Why is it that I read more Red Sox fans complain about their ownership, but Ms fans remain silent? Is it disinterest? Complacency?
Motor City Beach Bum
I think Yandy Diaz is the best option out of the bunch and would love for the Tigers to go get him to play 1B. Santana is a good one year solution though. The competition for remaining g 1B options should heat up pretty quick from the looks of it.
stymeedone
The Tigers are still committed to Torkelson. Their need is 3B.
Motor City Beach Bum
They can still be committed to Tork and sign a 1B. His defense sucks. Diaz is a clear upgrade at 1B. Harris was clear Tork will have to earn his spot. Tork could get at bats at DH and 1B even with Diaz on board.
Hopefully they address 3B as well. Kim would be nice so that Jung gets at bats as well, and Kim could slide I to SS if the Baez/Sweeney experiment fails. Kim and Diaz are the types of players Harris/Greenberg target and they would make the team better in a lot of fronts. Thoughts?
Stevil
First base was never that pressing. They just need a platoon partner for Raley.
BaseballClassic1985
Yankees didn’t want to give up draft picks and international bonus $ to sign Walker. They had already lost picks and bonus money for signing Fried. There is no such penalty with Goldschmidt because he didn’t have a QO attached to him.
Killer of Ignorance
Plus if they signed Walker they wouldn’t have a spot for Vladdy next year.
YourDreamGM
Yankees didn’t want to lose mote draft picks. They could have easily and gladly went 4 years.
Lilscrappy
@bigred – It’s because of the QO extended to Walker that the Yanks were not in on him. They already owe Atlanta draft pick compensation for signing Fried. Fried was worth the sacrifice but not Walker when there were options to get better without it. I’m not super gung ho on this signing but the risk is low, Goldie is a high character guy and between that and being Jewish, he stands to be a fan favorite in NY as long so he’s better than Rice, which is a rather low bar. What ultimately sets it up to be a net win for the Yankees is that 1st base was an absolute black hole of a position last year and this is not going to be worse, but it does have a significant chance to be better.
JackStrawb
Walker at 3/63m, if that’s what it would have taken, would have been a much better bet than Bregman at something like 175m.
PuttPutt⁰³
Of course they would’ve.
Teams BUY whoever they want, whenever they want.
Joke league.
Raymond Flagstaff
Looks to me like yanks respected not pursuing alonso the way mets did with judge
YankeesBleacherCreature
They don’t want Alonso. If the Mets had bid on Judge, so be it.
Raymond Flagstaff
K chief.
Raymond Flagstaff
Luckily your team has more class than the fan base
Killer of Ignorance
The Yankees didn’t want another bumbler at 1st who just had his worst season, who wants big bucks. Funny how Cohen went nuts for Soto and now is playing tightwad with Alonso.
Raymond Flagstaff
I dont see how thats funny, seems pretty rational to me.
How many everyday players will be paid less than goldschmidt this FAncy? Very few i would guess
Killer of Ignorance
Alonso sees what Cohen just paid Soto. And now with Alonso and Cohen at a stalemate you don’t think that irritates Alonso, longtime Met favorite? From my point of view, that’s funny.
Raymond Flagstaff
Not sure your point. Theyre all big boys. Why alonso would think its soto or cohens fault no one is willing to pay him
Anthony maresca
OF is set with Belli LF, Judge RF and Dominguez CF.
ChuckyNJ
Except the Yankees traded for Cody Bellinger and told him “you’ll be the everyday centerfielder”.
geanplayzyt
Picking the guy with most obvious decline, very yankee strategy I see.
Anthony maresca
Better than Rizzo that I am certain
VonPurpleHayes
I’m actually not certain. Goldy is toast. I don’t love this signing. Love the other moves though.
Charlie'sSinging
Goldy was excellent when hitting lower in the Cards’ order last year, meaning he was pressing when trying to carry the weight in the heart of the order. The Yankees won’t ask him to do that. If he does anywhere near what he did for the Cards when hitting 5-6 in the order last year, this is a steal and a major boost.
playhard9
Goldy and Arenado will both be better as supplemental players. Neither of them did well the past two years under the pressure of batting 3rd or 4th. Watch the Yanks get Nolan now too and then win the WS.
YourDreamGM
Goldy projects to be better in 2025 than 2024. Yankees got absolute bargain. Other teams are stupid or he took less $ to win. I’d gladly give him 15 in a cheaper state.
Killer of Ignorance
Anybody who watched Rizzo play last year knows you could put Bob Uecker at 1st base and get better production. 🙂 And Rizzo’s fielding fell off an airplane as well.
Baseballisthebest
Rizzo was better on defense than Goldschmidt last season. He couldn’t hit after the concussion.
melfman1
Mets fan, let me guess. Go out and sign Bregman to pair with Soto. Then you can watch them both underperform for the next 8 years (15 for Soto).
YourDreamGM
Juan Soso
Payne Train
Good for both of them!